New Delhi: The timing for ‘darshan’ and rituals at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has been advanced to 6 am from the present 7 am to accommodate the growing number of devotees flocking to the temple, officials said on Friday. According to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the temple will now be open to devotees from 6 am to 10 pm daily.
The ‘Mangala Aarti’ will take place at 4 am, after which the temple doors will be briefly closed. The ‘Shringar Aarti’ will be held at 6 am, marking the temple’s opening for the public. ‘Rajbhog’ will be offered at 12 noon, when the devotees will be allowed ‘darshan’, the temple trust said. The ‘Sandhya Aarti’ is scheduled at 7 pm during which the temple doors will remain closed for 15 minutes before reopening.
The ‘Shayan Aarti’ will be performed at 10 pm instead of 9.30 pm, after which the temple will close for the night. The changes were made to accommodate the increasing number of devotees, extending the ‘darshan’ hours by about 90 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. The trust said that devotees would also be allowed ‘darshan’ during ‘prasad’ offerings.
On February 3, the Uttar Pradesh government said Ayodhya had set a new record with over one crore devotees visiting the holy city between January 26 and ‘Basant Panchami’ (February 3). For the first time since Ram Lalla was enthroned in the grand temple, Maha Kumbh is being held in Prayagraj, drawing an influx of pilgrims to Ayodhya as well.
The Ram Temple remains the spiritual epicentre of Ayodhya, attracting around 3 lakh devotees daily. The temple trust has made elaborate arrangements to facilitate ‘darshan’, keeping the temple open for 18 hours a day, it said. Simultaneously, Hanuman Garhi continues to witness a steady stream of devotees, reinforcing Ayodhya’s deep-rooted spiritual significance, the trust said in a statement.
